Bob Rolfe

Bob Rolfe

Commissioner
Department of Economic and Community Development

Bob Rolfe was sworn in on January 19, 2019 by Governor Bill Lee to serve as the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The department is responsible for recruiting business and industry to the state, supporting existing companies, expanding economic opportunities across rural Tennessee and boosting the state’s overall economic prosperity.

Rolfe has served as TNECD commissioner since March 2017. Under his leadership, TNECD has increased Tennessee’s global footprint. During Rolfe’s tenure, he led Tennessee’s efforts in the recruitment and expansion of nearly 70 international companies that have committed to create more than 12,200 jobs. Representing 22 countries, these companies have invested $3.4 billion in the state.

Rural Tennessee has become a top priority for TNECD in recent years. Since 2017, the department has provided more than $34 million in funding to rural communities throughout the state. In addition, companies have invested $3.5 billion and committed to create more than 17,000 new jobs in rural communities over the past two years.

Rolfe has more than three decades of experience in business and investment banking in Tennessee. Before joining TNECD, he held the position of CEO of Medical Reimbursements of America, Inc., a company that provides specialty reimbursement solutions to improve financial performance for hospitals and health systems nationwide. Prior to his time at MRA, Rolfe co-founded West End Holdings in 2011, a Nashville-based private equity partnership. He spent the first 18 years of his career as an investment banker at J.C. Bradford and Co.

Rolfe received his E.M.B.A. from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and his B.S. from the University of Alabama’s School of Commerce and Business Administration. He and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 36 years and have three children. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, where he has served as an elder for two decades.